The short version
Audio MIDI Setup is not a demo or a stripped-down version of anything. It is the real mechanism, built into every Mac, and it is what Chorus itself sits on top of. The question this page is trying to answer is not which one "works", it is whether the convenience Chorus adds is worth paying for, given that the underlying grouping is identical either way.
What Audio MIDI Setup can already do, for free
Audio MIDI Setup lives in Applications > Utilities, comes with every Mac, and costs nothing to use. Click the + button in the bottom-left corner of its device list and you can build a Multi-Output Device: tick two or more outputs and macOS plays the same audio through all of them at once. The same + button builds an Aggregate Device on the input side, combining several microphones or interfaces into one.
Once it exists, the Multi-Output Device shows up like any other output in the Sound menu, and you select it the same way you would select a single speaker. This is the same mechanism Chorus uses to group outputs, so the sound is identical either way. What Chorus adds is everything around it, covered below.
Where the free route runs out
Building the Multi-Output Device is the easy part. Living with it day to day is where four gaps show up, and all four are well documented in our guide to the greyed-out volume slider.
- The volume slider stops working. A Multi-Output Device is not a real device with its own volume, so macOS has nothing for the slider or your volume keys to control. It greys out, and you have to open Audio MIDI Setup and drag each real device's own Master slider by hand, every time.
- There is no per-app routing at all. Every app shares whatever output is selected. A call cannot stay on your headphones while music plays through the room; Audio MIDI Setup has no concept of routing one app differently from another.
- It never switches on its own. Unplug a display or connect a new pair of headphones and the Multi-Output Device does not notice. You have to go back into Audio MIDI Setup and rebuild or reselect it manually.
- There is nowhere to save more than one setup. No named arrangements to switch between, no keyboard shortcuts, no menu-bar shortcut to the app itself. Every change means finding Audio MIDI Setup in Applications > Utilities and starting again.
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Audio MIDI Setup's Multi-Output Device beside the Chorus panel.
What Chorus adds on top of the exact same mechanism
Chorus does not replace Audio MIDI Setup's mechanism with something new. It uses the exact same output-grouping technology built into macOS, the same one behind every Multi-Output Device. What changes is everything wrapped around it.
Groups replace the Multi-Output Device with one that has a real, working volume: move a single slider or press your volume keys and every device in the group moves together, with its own balance so a quieter speaker can be brought up to meet a louder one. Per-App Audio does something Audio MIDI Setup has no answer to at all, separate volume and output per app, so a call sits on your headphones while everything else plays through the room. Auto-Switch follows your devices as they connect and disconnect, so a group survives unplugging a display without a trip back into Audio MIDI Setup. Keyboard Shortcuts let you bind any group, output or input to a shortcut, and the whole thing lives in one menu-bar panel instead of a separate utility buried in Applications > Utilities. If you drive things from elsewhere, Automation triggers Chorus from Raycast, Shortcuts or a Stream Deck.
Chorus leaves EQ, audio effects, recording and DAW-style routing between apps to other tools. What it adds is an interface built directly on top of what Apple already gives you for free, plus the pieces Apple's own tool leaves out.
| Audio MIDI Setup | Chorus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, built in | $9.99 once |
| Underlying mechanism | macOS's own device grouping | The same mechanism |
| Working volume on a group | No, slider greys out | Yes |
| Per-app routing | No | Yes |
| Reconnects automatically | No, rebuild by hand | Yes, Auto-Switch |
| Keyboard shortcuts | No | Yes |
| Raycast, Shortcuts, Stream Deck | No | Yes |
Is the free route enough for you?
For some people, yes. If you build a Multi-Output Device once, rarely change it, and do not mind opening Audio MIDI Setup to nudge a device's volume every so often, the free route covers it.
For everyone else, the case is friction, not capability. If the greyed-out slider catches you out weekly, if you keep wanting one app to sound different from another and cannot, if plugging in headphones means a trip to Applications > Utilities before anything sounds right, that friction is exactly what $9.99 buys you out of. You are not paying for different technology. You are paying for not having to think about it.
For the step-by-step on building a Multi-Output Device, see Apple's own guide to Audio MIDI Setup.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chorus do anything Audio MIDI Setup cannot do at a technical level?
No. Chorus uses the same output-grouping mechanism as Audio MIDI Setup's Multi-Output Device, so there is no different technology underneath. What Chorus adds is the interface around it: a working volume slider, per-app routing, automatic switching as devices connect and disconnect, and keyboard shortcuts, none of which Audio MIDI Setup provides on its own.
Can I build a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup for free?
Yes. Open Audio MIDI Setup, click the + button in the bottom-left corner of the device list, and choose Create Multi-Output Device. Tick the outputs you want and they play together immediately, at no cost.
Why does the volume slider stop working on a Multi-Output Device?
A Multi-Output Device is not a real device with its own volume, it is a wrapper that sends one audio stream to several real outputs at once. macOS has nothing for the slider or your volume keys to control, so it disables them rather than guess. You have to set each real device's own Master slider by hand instead.
Does Chorus install a driver or a kernel extension?
No. Chorus uses the audio grouping macOS already has, so nothing is added to the system. Drag the app to the Trash and your Mac is exactly as it was.
What does Chorus cost, and how many Macs does a licence cover?
Chorus is $9.99 once, with a 14-day free trial that needs no account and no card details. One licence covers up to three Macs, and it runs on macOS 13 or later on both Intel and Apple Silicon.
